I don’t understand. I didn’t study for first take SAT because I took it during sophomore year, and I scored a 2330. On the past October SAT I scored a 2370 (with a month studying). However my GPA is dismal: 3.2UW. And why did I study so little for the SAT? Because I was focusing on my grades!
Can somebody please explain? Anybody in the same boat?
My counselor said that I am intelligent enough for top colleges, but I’m too lazy. I highly disagree, I am not lazy at all. I try and I fail.
My friends, on the other hand, have 3.8+ UWGPAs and are struggling to break 2250.
SAT doesn’t measure intelligence. Some people are better at standardized tests than others. The SAT contains the most basic information that all high school students should have some exposure to. I’m not saying you’re not smart, I’m saying that perhaps you are excelling on a test that has more to do with strategy than actual knowledge. And because you have such a high SAT score, you feel that everything else should be easy. Just my two cents.
SAT - All you have to do is sit in a chair in class and listen. It is more gaming a test.
GPA - You have to work and be an active partcipant.
What I understand is that people say you’re lazy, but you say you were focusing on your grades, which suggests you are not lazy. So the other option would be that you aren’t very smart and scored badly on tests, but you scored excellently on the SAT - you also say you are very smart. And to score that well on the SAT you have to at least be close to 3 standard deviations from the mean, and if not that you have to be very diligent. I really cannot think of any explanation. Maybe you did not study for tests based on memorization? Do you have a learning disability that somehow goes dormant anytime you hear information relevant to the SAT?
This is a humblebrag
You are very lazy but are denying it
You go to one of the most competitive schools in the country.
Look at your grades and see what areas you fail to do well in, based on that, with your gifted IQ you can determine the reason why you do so poorly.
@anxiousenior1 Yeah I know I’m dumb lol. I think my counselor was trying to lighten the fall. It was just weird and my insecure friends have been pounding on my grades because their SAT is lacking. I’ve never been smart, but when it comes to simple things like IQ questions and things I do pretty well.
Ehh…I’ll see where I end up. College dreams from Frosh crushed xD
Since you’re trying hard in school but not doing as nearly well as your SAT scores would predict, getting tested for learning issues, aptitudes, etc., might be very helpful. This is not something to be ashamed of—you just might need a different learning (or studying) environment. If so, it could be that once you find that environment, your understanding of the material in your courses will improve, along with your grades. If that happens, even if you’re in your junior year now, there would still be time to turn things around and apply to top schools as a senior (or take a gap year and apply after your senior year, so you have two full years of improved grades). You would need to write about this in your applications so admissions committees would understand your earlier grades.
@FinelyAgedPruno I go to a Top 10 HS in NJ, and I have A’s in all my classes but I consistently get low Cs in AP Calc and low Bs in AP Lang.
I actually do better than my friends in other subjects but somehow they all have As in math and I’m like dying. The reason I’m confused is that the SAT was pretty much a joke to me but everyone else is struggling, while I’m struggling with my grades when everyone else is excelling.
I loathe my school’s learning environment; it is absolutely grotesque. LITERALLY EVERYONE and THEIR MOTHER cheats on the Chem, Bio, and Calc exams, but I can’t use that as an excuse because there are still the kids who get As regardless. It’s so stupid, all my friends talk about during lunch are the answers. They even take pictures of the Scantrons and tests like WTH?
And my counselor was literally like “Don’t even bother applying to Princeton blah blah blah…Rutgers is an awesome, amazing school but it is a reach for you…”
I’m sorry, I know my grades utterly suck, but I’m pretty sure Rutgers isn’t a reach for me.
I go to a school filled with rich, snot-nosed, still smarter-than-me but beyond immature idiots. I’m going to get torn apart when college decisions come out because all those kids care about are the names and prestige of the colleges. They pretty much suck on U.S. News College rankings all day and all of them are just applying to the first page. I literally despise that website now.
I was talking with them recently about how I wanted to go to school where I can save $$ on tuition and get good grades (like URochester), so I can apply to a prestigious PhD program for Grad school.
But holy crap, you should have seen the feedback I got: “WHAT IS ROCKMcLESTERsdfsdfG? I’ve never even HEARD of it! ALL THAT MATTER IS NAME!! BAHUMBUGdfsd!!!”
Sorry, this turned into a rant and an abuse of Caps Lock. Forgive me.
@DesperateLoser I completely understand how you feel. I went to a very competitive and cut throat high school and everyday, I felt like the underdog of my class. Like you, my GPA was lower than my peers but my SAT score was higher. But in the end, I was still accepted into various schools that rejected those with a higher GPA. Don’t listen to your counselor. College admissions is VERY unpredictable since it’s dependent on a LOT of factors not just GPA.
In my opinion, the prestige of a college is not EVERYTHING. Personally, I think that the name of your graduate school carries a lot more value than that of your undergraduate institution.
Also, throughout your college process, I suggest you to stop comparing yourself to your peers. At this point in your high school career, there is little to nothing you can do about your GPA. The past is the past. Focus on what you can improve on - your essays and extracurricular activities.
Some people just “get” the SAT. They just have a knack for interpreting the test items. I bet if you look through your testing history, you’ve been ace-ing standardized tests since elementary school.
Often standardized test scores that don’t line up well with classroom grades can be a red flag for unidentified learning differences. High test scores/low class grades can signal that a student needs help with executive function issues, and/or has ADD. Low test scores/high class grades can signal that a student has dyslexia-type issues. Why your counselor hasn’t suggested screening given your testing and grade history is simply beyond me. So pop in there on Monday and ask about screening. While you are still in high school you have access to resource teachers who can help you improve your compensation skills and organization skills so that you will be more successful in college.
That your friends are all doing significantly better than you in math is not something to get into a swivet about. Calculus is something that most students in the US don’t do until college - if at all. So if you end up re-taking it later, it will be perfectly fine. And, if you do need calculus for your career, taking it again and really mastering it is much more important than pulling an A right now.
You are smart to be looking at colleges and universities where your GPA and SAT scores will land you serious merit money, and where you can get a good education on the cheap. Especially if you are looking toward PhD programs where you will be working hard for very little money for a very long time. Your grades and SAT guarantee you admission at a number of places, and some of them would basically be free: http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
The SAT and ACT are just tests. Nothing more and nothing else. It is hard to generalize all of your 12-13 years of school into a single test, and these tests are about 4-5 hours. Of course, given these time constraints, the test is more about strategy than anything else. I for one can not break a 27 in Math on the ACT, even though I am in Calc 3 and heading into diff EQ next semester. I am horrid at standardized tests, always have been. What your results tell you is that you are good at a test, that is all. On the other hand, many people are late bloomers and do well in colleges.
The main fact is that standardized tests are not about knowledge–just look at the science ACT. It is about adapting a strategy to perform a specific task, and that is a great skill to have. Be proud, but do not sell yourself short with a 3.2. For all aforementioned posts, do not believe that just because you did well on a test and “bad” in school–like a 3.2 is bad–that you have a learning disability. I have had personal friends who followed that correlation though, so it is a possibility.
A 3.2 is good, but nothing to get you into an ivy league. That SAT score somewhat levels the playing field.
We always had someone fall asleep in Calculus, every day, and he scored better than me on every test. I could not believe it, but we scored very similarly on the ACT. I didn’t understand how he did something so easily that I had to work hard for. Some people just have all the luck!
3.2 uw isn’t exactly awful. Weighted it’s like a 3.5? Not awful. You’ve lost perspective. Not as strong as your SAT’s but at least you have the SAT score going for you. And U of R is an amazing school. Maybe you just haven’t figured out how to “do” school. It’s a game. Getting good grades on all the little, dumb stuff usually ends up into a good final grade. Yes - less smart kids get good grades at school. They work hard, know how to game the system.
Considering you’re saying math seems to be your downfall, and the SAT doesn’t test high level math, maybe you’ve just hit a ceiling on math. You obviously aren’t tricked when it comes to the semantics of SAT wording, but in Calc you seem to be struggling. That’s just my thought!
@DesperateLoser, look at the classes you do well in and find the common elements, then look for colleges that play to that. My D1- who like you scored well on standardized testing and had top grades in some classes, but not so much in others- worked out that the more small-scale assessment there was the worse she did. So, lots of daily assignments, small quizzes, detailed work? not so good. A big paper, a big test, something that she could sink her teeth into, that got the adrenaline going? aces.
If that is true for you, then know that some schools / some subjects are more one way than the other, and you can work on figuring out which is which.
Also, if you are up for adventure, I can tell you that UK universities (except St Andrews) LOVE standardized testing and are not into GPAs.